Vacuum cleaner head for cleaning and combing shag carpeting

ABSTRACT

Vacuum cleaner head in the form of a rake for cleaning and combing the pile of a shag rug, having a hollow stem, a hollow body and a number of hollow rake-like fingers with elliptical cross-sections extending downward from the body section parallel to one another and arranged in a number of off-set rows. The head when moved back and forth through the pile in the fashion of a rake will lift and untangle the individual strands exposing the dirt deep within the carpet to the cleaning action of the vacuum air stream.

United States Patent Dupea 2 1451 June 13, 1972 VACUUM CLEANER HEAD FOR CLEANING AND COMBING SHAG CARPETING [72] Inventor: Fred W. Dupes, 4501 North 25th Street,

Tacoma, Wash. 98406 22 Filed: on. 1,1970.

21 Appl. 190.; 77,277

52 us. c1 ..15/397, 15/402 [51] Int.Cl. [58] Field of Search 15/397, 402

[56] v References Clted UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,611,473 10/1971 Johnson ..15/402 X 2,866,221 12/1958 Warva 2,130,635 9/1938 Dowetal ..15/397 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 10,142 4/1910 Great Britain ..1s/397 4,079 2/1913 Great Britain ...1s/397 951,597 10/1956 Germany ..15/402 Primary Examiner-Walter A. Scheel Assistant Examiner-C. K. Moore Attorney-Morton, Bernard, Brown, Roberts and Sutherland [57] ABSTRACT Vacuum cleaner head in the form of a rake for cleaning and combing the pile of a shag rug, having a hollow stem, a hollow body and a number of hollow rake-like fingers with elliptical cross-sections extending downward from the body section parallel to one another and arranged in a number of off-set rows. The head when moved back and forth through the pile in the fashion of a rake will lift and untangle the individual strands exposing thedirt deepwithin the carpet to the cleaning action of the vacuum air stream.

PATENTEDJUH13 I972 3, 668 73 5 SHEET 1 OF 2 .mnmmnum.

VENTO FRED w. DUPEA ATTORNEYS PATENTEDJUN13 I972 3. 668 735 sum 2 OF 2 FRED W. DUPEA w mwdm ATTORNEYS INVENTOR VACUUM CLEANER HEAD FOR CLEANING AND COMBING SI-IAG CARPETING v BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION My invention relates to an improved vacuum cleaner head suitably adapted for connection to the hose of a conventional vacuum cleaner for cleaning and combing a shag rug.

During normal use, the long strands of the shag rug pile become entangled and matted down and trap dirt and debris. The numerous vacuum heads currently available are not well suited to clean and comb a shag rug because, with them, one is not able to easily untangle the long individual strands of the shag pile; consequently, dust and debris that is trapped among snagged strands will not be removed from the rug and thorough cleaning will not be accomplished.

The improved vacuum head which is the subject of my invention is designed specifically to facilitate the passage of the fingers through the shag pile by use of a finger with an elliptical cross-section whose major axis is alligned parallel to the intended direction of movement of the fingers through the pile. The use of the elliptical shape allows the finger to comb and raise the pile to its original fiuffy condition and separates the individual strands of pile with a minimum of snagging and friction, thus exposing dirt and debris deep within the carpet to the cleaning action of the vacuum air stream. Arranging the fingers in multiple off-set rows further facilitates the separation and untangling of the individual strands of the shag pile. The use of hollow fingers serves to concentrate the suction in a localized area and, therefore, more efiiciently removes the dirt from the longer shag pile.

In order that the invention may be fully understood and its numerous advantagesappreciated, attention is invitedto the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a vacuum cleaner attachment in accordance with the present invention showing the hollow stem, the hollow body and the hollow fingers arranged in off-set rows;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the vacuum cleaner attachment of FIG. 1 showing the hollow body and the hollow fingers arranged in off-set rows;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the vacuum cleaner attachment of FIG. 1 showing the hollow body and the plurality of hollow fingers arranged in a multiplicity of ofi-set rows and having an elliptical cross-section;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the vacuum tachment of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a modified form of the vacuum cleaner attachment in accordance with the present invention showing how it can be clipped to a conventional vacuum cleaner carpet cleaning head with a fully open bottom. 1

As seen in FIGS. 1-4, the vacuum cleaner attachment of the present invention, depicted generally at 10, includes a hollow stem portion 1 which is designed to be detachably connected to a conventional vacuum cleaner hose (not shown). Integrally connected to the stem 1 is the hollow body section or suction chamber, 2. The body section 2 broadens out from stem 1 to form a hollow structural member from which a plurality of hollow combing fingers 3 depend. Except for fingers 3, the lower surface 11 of the chamber 2 is closed. These combing fingers 3 have an elliptical cross-section whose major axis is preferably aligned parallel to the intended direction of movement of chamber 2 through the shag rug pile. The fingers extend a maximum length from the hollow structural member at each terminus of the minor axis and arcuately decrease to a minimum length at each terminus of the major axis of the elliptical cross-section of the hollow fingers. When viewed from cleaner atthe end as in FIG. 1, the fingers of the vacuum cleaner attachment of the present invention have lower ends which are convex downwardly. The elliptical shape of fingers 3 facilitates the easy passage of the fingers through the long shag pile of a shag rug with a minimumof friction and snagging so that the pile may be readily raked or combed to its original fluffy condition.

The hollow fingers 3 increase the effectiveness of the vacuum head for any given vacuum cleaner suction motor. In conventional vacuum cleaner heads, where the entire lower surface of the head is open, the vacuum pressure or suction decreases as the working area increases. The use in the present invention of individual hollow fingers 3 to apply the suction to the rug localizes the vacuum pressure, resulting in retention of a high vacuum pressure over a much larger working area. This feature is especially beneficial for a shag rug because to get a good appearance and to efiectively separate the strands of the shag pile a large working area is desirable, but to properly clean the longer pile of the shag rug, a relatively high vacuum pressure is necessary. The hollow fingers 3 achieve good combing characteristics and at the same time, in combination with the closed lower surface 11 of chamber 2,

, concentrate the high vacuum pressure, thereby readily removing dirt from the shag rug.

In a preferred embodiment, the vacuum cleaner head 10 of my invention can be made of a molded plastic having overall dimensions in the order of about 3 inches wide and '13 inches long, with body section 2 in the order of about linch high and with fingers 3 in the order of about 1% inches long. The body section 2 might support about 20 to 30 fingers 3 of elliptical cross-section having a major axis in the order of about fiveeighths inch and a minor axis in the order of about five-sixteenth inch. The fingers 3 arepreferably spaced along the length of the head 10 in off-set-rows about 1 inch on center, and spaced across the width of the body section 2 about threefourths inches on center. a

- FIG. 5 depicts a modified form of my invention to be used on a standard vacuum cleaner rug cleaning head 4 which has a stem 5, and a body section 6 similar to those of the'vacuum cleaner head 10 but which has a completely open underside 7. Attachment 13 is similar to the lower half of the vacuum head 10 and a plurality of off-set rows of elliptical shaped fingers 8 extend from the lower surface 15 of attachment 13. Attachment 13 is thus similar to the result that would be achieved by cutting head 10 of FIGS. 1 through 4 along the plane of line X-X of FIG. 2.

The upper edge 9 of attachment 13 preferably includes a gasket 12, of a suitable material such as rubber or felt, which extends around the entire circumference of upper edge 9 to provide a substantially air-tight seal between attachment l3 and the conventional vacuum cleaner rug cleaning head 4 to which it is attached and which has an open bottom 7. Suitable means such as spring clips 14 are provided by which attachment 13 can be detachably connected to the conventional vacuum cleaner rug cleaning head 4.

It can thus be seen that the present invention provides an improved vacuum cleanerattachment permitting easy and thorough cleaning of pile fabrics such as shag rugs. Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, numerous modifications could be made, and still the result would be within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A vacuum cleaner attachment comprising:

a hollow body portion having first and second closed sides which cooperate to define the width of the hollow body portion, first and second closed ends, a closed top plate and a glabrous bottom plate each mating with said first and second closed sides and said first and second closed ends;

a hollow stem extending from one side of said hollow body portion and adapted for connection to a vacuum cleaner hose to permit communication from the interior of said hollow body portion through said hollow stem to the vacuum cleaner hose; and

a plurality of glabrous hollow fingers depending from said bottom plate, each hollow finger having open ends to permit communication from the exterior of said hollow body portion through said hollow finger to the interior of said hollow body portion, said bottom plate being otherwise imperforate, each of said hollow fingers having a substantially elliptical cross-section, the plurality of fingers arranged in offset rows with respect to one axis of said hollow body portion, the major axis of each elliptical finger being parallel with the hollow'body portion axis running the width of said hollow body portion, each of said hollow fingers extending a maximum length from said hollow body portion at each terminus of the minor axis of said hollow fingers and arcuately decreasing to a minimum length at each terminus of the major axis of said elliptical cross-section of said hollow fingers such that when viewed from one end of the body portion the lower ends of the hollow fingers are convex downwardly.

2. A vacuum cleaner attachment comprising: a glabrous plate member having an axis running the width of the plate member and including means for attaching said plate member to a vacuum cleaner carpet cleaning head; and Y a plurality of glabrous hollow fingers extending from a first side of said plate member, each hollow finger having open ends to permit communication from the first side of said plate member through said hollow fingers to the second side of said plate member, said plate member being otherwise imperforate, each of the hollow fingers having a substantially elliptical cross-section, the plurality of fingers arranged in ofiset rows with respect to one axis of said plate member, the major axis of each elliptical finger being parallel with the plate axis running the width of said plate member, each of said hollow fingers extending a maximum length from said plate member at each terminus of the minor axis and arcuately decreasing to a minimum length at each terminus of the major axis of said elliptical cross-section of said hollow fingers such that when viewed from an edge of said plate which is parallel to the plate axis running the width of said plate member the lower ends of the hollow fingers are convex downwardly. 

1. A vacuum cleaner attachment comprising: a hollow body portion having first and second closed sides which cooperate to define the width of the hollow body portion, first and second closed ends, a closed top plate and a glabrous bottom plate each mating with said first and second closed sides and said first and second closed ends; a hollow stem extending from one side of said hollow body portion and adapted for connection to a vacuum cleaner hose to permit communication from the interior of said hollow body portion through said hollow stem to the vacuum cleaner hose; and a plurality of glabrous hollow fingers depending from said bottom plate, each hollow finger having open ends to permit communication from the exterior of said hollow body portion through said hollow finger to the interior of said hollow body portion, said bottom plate being otherwise imperforate, each of said hollow fingers having a substantially elliptical crosssection, the plurality of fingers arranged in offset rows with respect to one axis of said hollow body portion, the major axis of each elliptical finger being parallel with the hollow body portion axis running the width of said hollow body portion, each of said hollow fingers extending a maximum length from said hollow body portion at each terminus of the minor axis of said hollow fingers and arcuately decreasing to a minimum length at each terminus of the major axis of said elliptical cross-section of said hollow fingers such that when viewed from one end of the body portion the lower ends of the hollow fingers are convex downwardly.
 2. A vacuum cleaner attachment comprising: a glabrous plate member having an axis running the width of the plate member and including means for attaching said plate member to a vacuum cleaner carpet cleaning head; and a plurality of glabrous hollow fingers extending from a first side of said plate member, each hollow finger having open ends to permit communication from the first side of said plate member through said hollow fingers to the second side of said plate member, said plate member being otherwise imperforate, each of the hollow fingers having a substantially elliptical cross-section, the plurality of fingers arranged in offset rows with respect to one axis of said plate member, the major axis of each elliptical finger being parallel with the plate axis running the width of said plate member, each of said hollow fingers extending a maximum length from said plate member at each terminus of the minor axis and arcuately decreasing to a minimum length at each terminus of the major axis of said elliptical cross-section of said hollow fingers such that when viewed from an edge of said plate which is parallel to the plate axis running the width of said plate member the lower ends of the hollow fingers are convex downwardly. 